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Monday, January 7, 2013

I know it's been awhile since I last blogged. The month of December brought big changes and a lot of work, since we moved my dad out here from PA to live with us permanently.

It was an arduous drive for him, as he was pulling a trailer behind his minivan with THE WRONG TIRES on it. Golf cart tires, to be exact, not meant to carry a tanning booth and Honda Goldwing. So he blew 4 tires in 5 days. Pretty awful, and a non-calculated expense.

Not what you want the month you have to pay for Christmas presents.

Then came the Dryer, which almost caught on fire while Andy was doing laundry.
Sayonara, $400.

The kids made out like bandits, actually getting everything on their Christmas lists to the point where they were stumped at what to use the $400 in gift cards they accumulated. I should've made them donate them to charity. I mean, seriously, if you can't think of anything you don't have, then I guess you have too much.

I think my goal for them this summer, is to volunteer somewhere. They are far too entitled. Some may argue that we overcompensated the fact that Andy was gone so much as they were growing up, but even that being said, my kids are well-rounded and thriving. But they need to see what life is like when you're not blessed with the luxuries they have.

I remember growing up, not with perfect parents, but parents I knew loved me and that I could count on to take me to Girl Scouts, club events, and build stage sets for the musicals I was in. They over-extended themselves in order to take us on pretty lavish vacations, a thing I didn't realize the cost of until I became independent, financially. We weren't rich. Solid middle-class, back then, but still dependent on each paycheck to keep up with what we wanted and what my parents wanted.

What a shock it was, being 19 with a baby, and newly married on a Private First Class's income, since I was at home with our son. Daycare would've greatly outweighed what I would've made as a retail clerk or restaurant server, my only jobs as a teenager. I will never forget looking at Andy's first W-2 statement the first time I filed our taxes. $14k in 1998.

I don't know how we got through those years, or the ones after. The pay increases were small, and insignificant until I started working full time. But with all the moves, and travel that I deemed necessary to visit my family, we still struggled, always living paycheck to paycheck. Even now we are in that situation, until I can get some time at this job under my belt and save.

My big splurge on myself? Nutrasystem.

I tried it about 7 years ago and was disgusted by the food, so I didn't stick with it. I decided to give it another go, since I have now gained enough weight that I was considering Gastric Bypass.

I've never been this fat, and barely any of my clothes fit. I can't and won't justify buying more, when I need to just buckle-down and lose the weight, so that I can fit in to my vast closet, already ranging in sizes from 12-20.

So I started a week ago tommorrow, and I am pleased to say that I am already down 5 lbs! I know that much of it is water weight lost, but it's 5 lbs, nonetheless.

The food is actually decent, and the hardest part is adjusting to the portion size while my stomach shrinks down. Usually a two week process. I've been counteracting by cutting out all drinks other than coffee with fat free half and half, and lots and lots of water.

I also had some Phentermine left over from a diet before, which is an appetite suppresant to get me over the hump, and have added Alli to maximize my weight loss.

I've done Alli before, and while it says keep your meals under 15 grams of fat, it's really more like 10-12 to stay in the "not shit yourself" safety zone. Thankfully, most meals on Nutrasystem are in this fat gram zone or below. If you eat what you are supposed to, Alli works like a charm. If you cheat, you will fart out what looks like oil.

And it smells awful.

They recommend one after each meal, up to three per day. But if three is still giving you issues after the two week adjustment time, cut it back to two a day and you should be fine.

I am lazy. I am too fat, and too busy to exercise right now, so the low caloric intake and Alli are going to have to work for me. When I hit a plateau, I think I will order the diabetic or vegetarian versions of Nutrasystem to give myself a kick.

But so far, it's working, and as long as I lose over 10 lbs per month, I will stick with it. My goal is to lose 100 lbs by September. But I take it 10 lbs at a time for short term goals.

I keep telling myself that I will succeed. And by jove, I think I will.

2 comments:

(lynda day)keri, glad to hear your dad made it out there ok (?)~ even with all his flat tires! also, great job in losing 5 lbs already! that is awesome! i am trying to lose, too, and i've lost 15 lbs since august, but that is only about 3 lbs per month..have to do something to jump start it again, my main problem is the sugar/candy. if i can stay away from that, i am ok (oh, and the pasta, also!). keep up the effort, and let us know how you are doing` i'll be rooting for ya! hope to see you soon in 2013....

You can do it Keri!! :) I am so excited for you too, as I am sure this will increase your energy levels too! Who knows, Maybe this will even spark Dad to join you with the Nutrisystem D for diabetics!

And Lynda - You can do it too!! :) And you don't have to cut out ALL the candy and pasta - It's all about moderation! Sometimes that easier said than done though!

I've been eating A LOT of potatoes lately myself (helps to soothe my tummy!) And it's any kind of potato imaginable (french fries, tater tots, mashed potatoes, baked potato, hashbrowns, home fries - Mmmmmm) and I feel like I'm full of potatoes right now... I'm thinking about supplementing my lunch with an apple and grapes, and maybe even some fresh broccoli! Guess I better start packing my lunch because otherwise I crave McD's french fries or mashed potatoes from KFC or Stauffers!